Sept. 18, 2009
By Ronald Inman, NAVFAC Far East Public Affairs Officer
Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC) Far East has completed Environmental Management System (EMS) implementation at the six installations it supports – Commander Fleet Activities Yokosuka, Commander Fleet Activities Sasebo, Commander Fleet Activities Okinawa, Naval Air Facility Atsugi, Naval Support Facility Diego Garcia and Commander Fleet Activities Chinhae - ahead of schedule. NAVFAC Far East achieved compliance on Aug. 27, more than a month ahead of the Sept. 30 deadline – the direct result of a team effort. “(EMS) requires tremendous coordination, training and effort across the region – not just within the environmental program, but throughout all organizational levels and programs,” said Michael Corry, the NAVFAC Far East environmental engineer who acted as the command’s compliance program manager during its EMS implementation. EMS is a formal management framework intended to help an organization achieve its internal environmental goals through repeatable and consistent control of its operations. It systematically uses five basic components – policy, planning, implementation, checking/ corrective action and management review – to achieve full compliance with legal requirements and continual improvement in mission performance. EMS conformance is a highly visible requirement within the Department of Defense, Commander Navy Installations Command and NAVFAC. The Navy uses International Standard (ISO) 14001 as its framework for EMS implementation. ISO 14001 is a globally-recognized standard for environmental management system requirements that can be applied to organizations of all types and sizes. According to Corry, implementation of EMS at NAVFAC Far East has resulted in numerous benefits to the organization, such as streamlined documentation of and reference to training records, environmental management plans, standard operating procedures and guidance. Nearly 3,000 employees at the six installations have completed EMS awareness training this year. “It has exponentially increased employee awareness of how their duties affect the environment and how to complete the mission in an environmentally-friendly manner,” Corry emphasized, “which will ultimately save the Navy countless time, energy and money in the future through proactive environmental management and coordination.” For more information about NAVFAC Far East environmentle management visit https://portal.navfac.navy.mil/navfacfe.